The Sensory-Enhanced Yoga Institute is excited to offer its 25-hour child-focused Webinar Series:

Sensory-Enhanced, Mindfulness-based Yoga for Learning Environments (SMYLE™)

This 3- Part webinar workshop series is especially designed for elementary and middle-school teachers, special needs teachers, occupational therapists, other allied and licensed mental health professionals, yoga therapists and yoga instructors who would like to learn how to incorporate Sensory-Enhanced Yoga® into the classroom and general school setting to help students manage symptoms of trauma, toxic stress, anxiety, ADHD, and similar mental health conditions so they can maintain a calm and focused state of alertness conducive to learning. The course was co-created by Lynn Stoller, OT, M.S., OTR/L, C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, YACEP and Megan Schofield, M.Ed., RYT, with valuable contributions by Dr. Erin O’Neill, OTD, OTR/L RYT-200.  No yoga experience is necessary.

Part 1 & 2 consists of five 2-hour prerecorded webinar sessions, and presents the science and theory behind Sensory-Enhanced Yoga®  through a child-focused lens. You will learn how trauma, anxiety, and stress affects childhood development (especially brain development) and will learn the evidence supporting the power of yoga and related mindfulness-based practices to help heal these conditions.  We frame our theoretical discussions around our kosha based Transdisciplinary Model for Post-Traumatic Growth in Children and related guidelines for practice.  Though mostly lecture, participants will experience a small sampling of yoga, breathing, and meditation techniques as well. Two live Q & A sessions will be scheduled to answer any questions (attendance is optional).  

Part 3 will present evidence-based, trauma-informed practices that can be incorporated into particular activities and time points during the school day. Both mat and chair versions of the yoga forms and movements will be taught, along with child-friendly breathing and meditation practices. Participants will have opportunities to practice the techniques in pairs and small groups and will also participate in a larger group final lab which includes planning and presenting practices for one school day for their assigned case study student. 

The book, Sensory-Enhanced Yoga for Children and Adolescents:  Healing Trauma, Anxiety and Stress through the Koshas, by Lynn Stoller and Meg Hennessey Schofield  is required and can be ordered through our website for continental US residents at 10% off retail and free shipping. For other countries, including Canada, please order from Amazon.  The publication date is May 21, 2024; pre-orders accepted. 

Please note that we discuss trauma in a frank manner in this training program which may be triggering for someone who is currently experiencing symptoms of trauma.  Please consult with a licensed mental health provider or contact us before you register if you have any questions regarding the suitability of this course for you.

Attendance (via Zoom) is mandatory at all live sessions of Part 3* in order to receive a certificate of completion, due to the experiential nature of the course. Certain learning segments may be prerecorded and shown during the live sessions; however, these recordings will not be made available to participants outside of the sessions.

*If a Part 3 session is missed, you must attend that session and the last 2 sessions at a future series (at no cost) to receive your certificate, as all practices need to be learned before participating in the final group lab. Participants must actively participate in all experiential aspects of the course with their videos on, to confirm competency in the program. 

You will find the bios for our SMYLE faculty on our team page.

The Sensory-Enhanced Yoga Institute is a Registered Continuing Education Provider for the Massachusetts Department of Education (PD Provider #S20200018).

This program (Parts 1, 2, & 3 combined) can be used towards the National Board for the Certification of Occupational Therapists (NBCOT) renewal requirements for a total of 23 PDUs; qualifies for 23 Contact Hours for Yoga Alliance; is approved for 23 Contact Hours by the International Association of Yoga Therapists; is approved for 23 Contact Hours by the Massachusetts Mental Health Counseling Association (MaMHCA); and qualifies for 23 Contact Hours by the Arizona Board of Behavioral Health Examiners.  Many states honor other states’ approvals- please inquire for more information!

Here is what our graduates have to say about our SMYLE™ workshop:

“Thank you so much for this course!  The information is so valuable, and so much hard work and research you and your team put in.  Very much needed and appreciated!”– Regina S.

“Thanks again for sharing your expertise with us for the past few months!  I have learned so much and am excited to incorporate this into sessions with students.”– Rachel R.

“Thank you for everything and for creating such an amazing course!!”– Caitlyn M.

 “I wanted to let you know that I have been using my SMYLE training to work with our low incidence students during summer school.   It has been wonderful.   I’ve really enjoyed teaching them and your course really helped.   Thank you!!”– Maria B.

Sensory and Mindfulness-based Yoga for Learning Environments™ (SMYLE™), Fall 2024:

Part 1 & 2- The Science & Theory

      • 5 Prerecorded Sessions plus 2 optional live Q & As (dates TBD)  

Part 3- The Practice

      • OPTION 1: Saturday and Sunday, September 28 & 29, plus Saturday October 5, 2024
      • OPTION 2: Sundays Only: September 22 & 29, plus October 20, 2024
      • Times (all dates):
        • Boston/NY- 9:30 am-3:00 pm EST
        • London, UK- 2:30 pm-8:00 pm BST
        • South Africa- 3:30-9:00 pm SAST

Faculty:
>>Lynn Stoller, OT, M.S., C-IAYT, RYT 500/E-RYT, YACEP
Meg Hennessey Schofield, MEd, RYT

There is a $50 discount per person for groups of 3 or more that sign up from the same school or organization.  (This applies to the “Early Bird” or “Regular Rate” but does not apply to any “Extra Early Bird” rate, if available.)

PLEASE NOTE: Option 1 and Option 2 refer to the date options listed above for Part 3.


More S.M.Y.L.E. trainings are coming soon! Use the form below to be notified of upcoming trainings.